Weight reduction in your STi and some other notes.

[Alin]

The number one way to help save some weight in your STi is:

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Exercise! :lol:

Yes! That is correct. Exercise is the BEST way to shed some pounds not only off your body, but in the total weight of your vehicle. Now, I speak from personal experience. Here is a little bit about me:

I have been considered "big" all my life. A little chuby, extra baggage, chunky, overweight, ect. You get it. Well, in December of 2011, I weighed 260 pounds. I am 6'6", so it did not show on me as if it would on someone that is 5'8" per say. I started reading up on fitness and looking at motivational posters and pictures. I became informed on what sacrifices must be made in order to achieve the goal you set out. With eating clean, avoiding ALL garbage food, and exercising. My goal was to become "lean". I found a picture of what a healthy body looks like. By no means am I shredded or ripped. I am at an average, normal weight. So entering the new year, I decided to get right into it! No fast forward to June of 2012; 6 months later. I lost a lot of weight. I went from 260 to 195. Let's just say 65 pounds is pretty fucking heavy when you look at it right in front of you. Now for the past month I have been eating really crappy just because I missed what good shit tasted like! again, 260 to 195. Size 40 pants to 34. XL shirt to M. The only thing I could not understand is when people told me that the felt "good" when they were fit. The only time I felt good was after a damn workout. Nonetheless, the biggest thing I learned was that losing weight was such a simple task.

Now that 65 pounds might not feel different in my STi, I'm pretty sure in the long run it might have some positive effect. For the guys who track, I bet all the weight factors add up quick. (seats, shit in trunk, gas, tire pressure, empty windshield washer fluid, ect.)

Now that I bored you with my little side story, I would like to hear from the experts what small things you can do for weight reduction to the ride. There have been days where I have cruised around town with no passenger seat, no rear seats, empty trunk, helmet on. :lol: :tard:

Is there anything in our cars that is significantly heavy than we can drive without. I'll be honest with you guys; I could care less about a radio, seats, and shit in trunk. The only person who drives my car is me. I rarely have passengers. People bitch too much that my radio sucks, my suspension is too stiff, my car is too loud, my struts clunk, I drive with no A/C. So the only remedy to this is to refrain from having any passengers. I love my 2004 to death. After driving several other STi's, I feel like the 2004 is the true rally inspired feel. All the sound deadening bullshit that was added is not for me. I always roll my eyes to people that say they need more luxury. The STi is not meant for luxury. That is why it's not in the 3400+ pound range. Although if it were closer to the 3000 mark, I would be happy. That's why the BRZ has caught my eye so much. Such a lightweight car and handles significantly.

The true enthusiasts love the BRZ. The boy racers that ONLY go in a straight line (ALL of my friends), will hate the car because it is not turbod, is not AWD, is ONLY 200 HP... I don't even argue with anybody anymore. If they can't comprehend what the purpose of the car is, then there is no point to even talk. I'm sure I am not the only one that has been witnessing/experiencing these hard headed kids.

I'm not sure what else to add, so I'll just wait to see what you guys have to say if you feel that you have any input.

All agreements, disagreements, and criticism accepted. :tup:

 

[IGOTASTi]

I have no spare tire, jack, or any thing in the truck. I have carbon fiber parts anywhere I can to save weight. I even got a small battery that only weights 15 pds. 04 is raw. I love it for that. 04 FTW!

 

[Alin]

I have no spare tire, jack, or any thing in the truck. I have carbon fiber parts anywhere I can to save weight. I even got a small battery that only weights 15 pds. 04 is raw. I love it for that. 04 FTW!

I also have no spare tire or jack in the trunk. What I do have is the crappy grey cloth material, the I/C spray tank, the spare tire cover, and a can of fix-a-flat. :lol: I was looking at the batteries as well. I love 04 too. :tup:

 

[Vermont]

I agree weight is a huge factor in going faster. Not that it really matters in my 09.... I have full interior and everything, still have my AC and air pumps. Heck I even have a set of two 10 inch subs in a big ass enclosed box in the back. Does this make an impact? I don't feel it but I am sure it does. I am by no means a track guru, heck I have only done two track days in my STI and two rally cross days in my old Celica. What I can say with out a shadow of a doubt is that low power, rolly suspension and skinny tires = more fun. My STi even when it was stage two had way way WAY too much power for the tires and suspension. I was coming out of the cork screw at High Plains Race way and I hit all the apexes right and carried the speed exactly as my instructor said. The only problem, my tires let go and sent me into a tank slapper.... The biggest thing those two track days did for me was not teach me how to driver better, but teach how much of an utter and total newbie I am. When a 55 year old man in a 18 year old Miata laps your 22 year old ass in your 2 year old modded STI, well that is called a giant serving of humble pie.

I honestly don't mind the BRZ, I like the concept. The problem I have with it is that they are selling a $16k car at $22k becasue they know people will pay it.... There are better cars than the BRZ if what you are after is a fast (kinda), fun, RWD sports car. The Miata and S2K come to mind, along with the RX8 and Genesis coupe. The sale of the BRZ is purely a marketing success, and has nothing to do with the cars abilities. To be honest I would buy the BRZ in a heart beat if they either Turbo charged it and widen the tires (along with other upgrades to meat the power output) or dropped the price. At 22k I can buy a V6 mustang that will stomp it on the straights or a lightly used S2k (or Mx5) which will thrash it in the bends.

 

[IGOTASTi]

I love my AMS battery.

 

[Grinder34]

Rear Trunk/wing. They are EXTREMELY heavy compared to a carbon fiber one.
Bumper Beams. Also very, very heavy. But you lose crash protection if you remove it. I opted for the JDM front bumper beam (5mph protection vs 10 for USDM...or something). Plus it has a subaru part # so in an impact an adjuster might not notice? Anwyays, there are a few more aftermarket ones like Oswald and Litespeed. Also note, most of the "easy" weight comes off the rear. A front bumper beam is at the VERY front of the car!
Front Battery. Like JJ said, you can get much lighter ones, and this also helps with weight distribution.
Front Subframe. Another HUGE piece under the car. It doesnt add much/any rigidity (it's a giant "U" so it twists pretty easily). It is, however, part of the crash protection system. I opted to remove mine.
Rear Seat Bar. Under the rear seat there's some random bar. I'm not sure what it does, but it's a few pounds, and pointless.
Wheels/Tires. The stock ones are actually pretty good, but you can go lighter.
Suspension. I'm not sure how much the OEM struts/springs/etc weight, but I think a good aftermarket coilover system will probably be lighter.


That's all i can think of for now

Edit:

Headers. The OEM ones are cast iron and heavy as a MFer. You can get some nice, light ones. There are some associated risks of cracking when going aftermarket (unless you spend $$$) but definitely some weight to be had. Not sure about the turbo-back section of exhaust. One manufacturer claims his weights 17 lbs less than OEM. Its up front, so also good for weight-distribution.

 

[Alin]

Ah the rear seat bar. I thought that was there for stiffening the back of the car. Litespeed has that video they made promoting their x brace wires. I do not remember what type of STi it was but I do not recall the bar. Do all 04-12 STis have that bar?

 

[Grinder34]

Not sure which years have it. It's almost certainly NOT for stiffening, as it doesnt span any seams, gaps, bends, etc. It might be extra support/comfort for fat people in the back seat.

 

[Alin]

:lol: My car has it.

I will take a picture for clarification. I will be working on my car today and measing around with some things.

 

[IGOTASTi]

My wheels weight 14.5 pds vs the factory BBS at 17.5. My girl Lexi has drop some weight lately. You can tell to be honest.

 

[IGOTASTi]

Tell him to post it on here.

 

[Alin]

Definitely! I am interested in seeing it too!

 

[STimedic]

I've removed my airbags and sensors, that alone was about 30#...next up will be the side airbags in the seats, which should be about another 30#. I also have a lightweight Odyessey 680PC battery and removed my A/C system. I've also added a P/S cooler, but the weight was pretty much offset with the lighter-weight JDM pump.

Other places to save weight:
-Wiring (mine will be done when I get the time to do it, remove all the extraneous stuff like A/C wiring, airbag wiring, etc, other harnesses will be shortened and re-routed for simplicities' sake)
-02-07 WRX's and 04 STi's had slightly thicker glass, but the 05+ STi's transitioned to slightly thinner glass to save some weight (transferred from the donor car)
-Crash bars in the doors
-Roof panel (swap for an epoxied CF unit, saves 5-7#)
-Doors
-6-disc stereo (weighs 20#-ish)

 

[Grinder34]

The one time i had the glovebox out, i remember it being surprisingly heavy. If you gutted the door it'd probably be a few pounds.

On 07+ STIs the air pumps or "Secondary Air Injection System" (something like that), can be bulky and heavy. Off the top of my head 10 lbs for the whole system.

There's a lot of sound deadening on the firewall, IIRC. Maybe as much as 20lbs, but I'd have to look that up.

As said above, aftermarket seats, steering wheel without airbags will probably save a ton of weight.

 

[STimedic]

The factory seats aren't bad once you get the bags out. I will find out for sure when I get home. I've already removed the majority of the airbag system to date.

 

[Grinder34]

Fuji, I'd love to know more about removing the EVAP, either in this thread or starting another one. It's only for emissions and weighs a lot, right?

 

[icudruln]

I have some weight information in my journal on the first page. Credit to AnorexicSTi from another forum.

Does anyone know how weight reduction affects classes for Autocross, SCCA, or NASA?

 

[icudruln]

I am not definite in regards to the accuracy of this list, as found in my journal. Weight of items were listed by AnorexicSTi

Weight Reduction, courtesy of AnorexicSTi​

2004 USDM STi Stock Weight: 3,289 lbs
2004 USDM STi Stock Ratio: 10.96 lbs per hp

Weight reduction will be as much of a priority in my build as any other modifications. Simply put, weight = power. It if often believed that for every 10 lbs you remove, that's 1whp, not to mention positively affecting vehicle handling, and in some areas, reducing rotational mass.

Note: Anything removed will be noted as "- xx lbs". Aftermarket parts will note the difference from stock part to aftermarket part, i.e. "- xx lbs" with the stock part's weight in parentheses (xx lbs).

Removed Spare Tire - 33 lbs
Removed Spare Tools - 7 lbs
Removed Spare Tire Cover - 4 lbs
Removed Rear Seat Belts - 12.5 lbs
Removed Rear Mid Seat Belt - 5 lbs
Removed Rear Seat Belt Brackets - 2 lbs
Removed Child Seat Brackets - 2 lbs
Removed Rear Seat Support Bar - 16 lbs
Removed Floor Mats (4x) - 6 lbs
Removed Carpet - 7 lbs
Removed Trunk Liner - 5 lbs
Removed A, B, C Pillar Covers - 10.5 lbs
Removed Sun Visors - 1 lb
Removed Visor Thing Above Rear View Mirror - 1 lb
Removed All Sound Deadening Material - 11 lbs
Removed Ash Tray - 0.5 lb
Removed Coin Holder - 0.5 lb
Removed Metal Piece in Center Console - 1 lb
Removed Dead Pedal Cover - 1 lb
Removed Firewall Insulation - about 25 lbs
Removed Door Sill Covers - 2 lbs
Removed Rear Tow Hook - 2 lbs
Removed Air Snorkel - 2 lbs
Removed Turbo Heat Shield -1.75 lbs
Removed Alternator Cover - 0.5 lb
Wingless Trunk - 17 lbs
Removed front seat sliders - 2 lbs
Removed Rear Seats - 18 lbs
Removed U Brace - 27lbs
Perrin Catted Downpipe - 11 lbs (stock is 22 lbs)
Invidia N1 Race Catback - 11.5 lbs
K&N Short Ram Intake + 1 lb
TiC Fender Braces - 1.75 lbs

Current Shed Weight: 238 lbs​

Current Projected Weight: 3,051 lbs
Current weight/hp Ratio: 9.16 lbs per hp
​

 

[IGOTASTi]

Nice post. :tup:

 

[STimedic]

I'll have to weight my airbags and A/C system when I get home, they're still in the garage. Edwin, I might need to talk to you about removing the evap system and negative effects it may have, if any. I'm interested in getting that done to the Beast.